Skate
by QueenMaj
Summary: An afternoon of ice skating. -Shunsui x Nanao-


**Okay: I sort of, kind of, maybe, possibly stolen the plot of that episode where Ichigo and Rukia ice skate just a little bit.**

**Meaning: I completely stole the entire plot and changed it to suit my needs.**

**Well, some differences are pretty major, but still... I'm sowwy. (v_v) (that was my sorry face) Queen has been a bad girl. I apologize to any angry fans. I hereby give you permission to flame me if you hate that I'm a plot stealer. (But if my readers still wuv me, please leave a review! Concrit is, as always, welcome.)**

Shunsui looked around him with interest. Yama-jii had been impressed with what he and Nanao had accomplished - twenty-seven Hollows purified in one afternoon. He's given them permission to take the rest of the day off and have an improptu vacation of sorts in the Living World.

He turned to Nanao. "So, what does my sweet Nanao-chan suggest we do for the rest of the day?"

Nanao frowned. "I don't know. And I'm not your sweet anything."

"Of course, my gorgeous Nanao-chan."

Nanao scowled, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the way the winter breeze was flipping the ends of her hair back playfully. In truth, Shunsui was a bit surprised at the way the cold seemed to have no effect on her. While in her gigai, she had opted to wear jeans with plum-colored boots that came up to her knees and a matching sweater. It was snowing lightly, and her hands were still as warm as they were in the spring, even though they were not wrpped around a mug of tea or stuffed into her pockets (he had checked).

He shrugged. "Well, I guess we could have a romantic picnic at the lake. I'll read you poetry, and we'll rent a peddle-boat, and I'll compare your beauty to that of the flowers. But then again, that might be a bit unfair to the flowers, because they cannot hope to stand up to your radiance.

Nanao fought the blush rising to her cheeks. "It's snowing, you idiot." Her eyes betrayed her, though. They shone with good humor and affection.

Shunsui lazily tipped his head back and observed the sky as though he hadn't noticed the fat white flakes until this very moment. "Ah, so it is." He reached out a hand and caught one. "My Nanao-chan is like the snow."

Nanao looked up sharply. "Cold, you mean?" For some reason, the thought that he might have found her cold hurt far more than she'd ever expected.

He shook his head. "No. My Nanao-chan can act cold at times, but she warms up quickly." To illustrate his point, he placed three fingers lightly on her cheek. A violent blush exploded across her face before she could stop it. Chuckling, he pulled away and caught anoher snowflake. "And, of course, my Nanao-chan is beautiful. Just like the snow."

Nanao rolled her eyes, but she was secretly pleased. "According to you, sir, I am like many things. The snow, the sakura trees, the sun, the moon, the wind, the peach blossoms, the roses. The list goes on and on."

Shunsui smiled. "That is because my Nanao-chan is beautiful in so many ways."

Nanao did not respond. She was staring at a group of children across the street. They were holding ice skates and making their way towards a frozen pond. She had always loved ice skating. She remembered the skill from her human life, when her family had taken her and her older brother skating on the pond near their home.

Shunsui followed her gaze, and his smile grew wider. "Does my lovely Nanao-chan want to go ice skating?"

Before she had time to protest, he had grabbed her hand and pulled her across the road to the rink. He rented two pairs of skates from the man behind the counter. He grinned as he handed Shunsui his pair. "This is a great place for a date. Good descision you made, bringin' your girlfriend here."

Shunsui returned the smile. "Yeah, Nanao-chan thought it would be fun."

Nanao scowled at him. "I said no such thing! And I'm _not _your girlfriend."

She laced up her skates and stood, gripping the wall to help her stand. Her memories of skating with her brother came back to her almost instantly (she'd always been a terrific skater), and she was about to push off of the wall when she felt an hand on her arm.

She turned to face Shunsui. "Can you skate, sweetheart?" he asked.

An idea popped into her head. It was ridiculous, and entirely unprofessional, but Nanao had decided that she wanted to try letting her captain in a little. She grinned, pretending to be embarrassed. "Not really. I just thought it'd be fun to try." She hoped that she was convincing enough.

Shunsui realized that this could work to his advantage, but he'd have to tread carefully. He didn't want to anger Nanao or scare her off. "I can help you, if you want."

Nanao shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't be able to do much on my own. Why not?"

He grinned and took her hand in his. Leading them both away from the wall, he couldn't hide his satisfaction at the way Nanao had promptly lost her balance and had to grip his arm. She must have had to swallow her pride to make herself do this.

For the next three and a half hours, he led them around the rink. Nanao hadn't let go of his hand once, which pleased him immensely. It was just the two of them today, with no other shinigami around, and she'd been much more affectionate than she would have been under ordinary circumstances.

Nanao, for her part, was also extremely satisfied with the way the afternoon had turned out. She hadn't been entirely certain that her plan would work. As they were walking away from the booth where they returned the skates, Nanao was embarrassed to realize that she still hadn't let go of Shunsui's hand.

But she wasn't at all surprised to find that she didn't want to.

.:QueenMaj:.

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Shunsui grinned at the excitement of the SWA. They'd organized a Seireitei-wide skating party, and Rangiku had managed to convince a very disgruntled Captain Hitsugaya to use Hyorinmaru to freeze a large, empty field for that purpose. Their efforts had paid off, though. Everyone was having fun.

He caught Rangiku by the arm as she rushed past. "Hey, Ran-chan, do you know where Nanao-chan is? She can't skate, and I don't want her to miss out on the party."

Rangiku frowned at him. "Can't skate? What are you talking about? Nanao-chan is an amazing skater. She taught me and Isane-chan how to skate when we were in the Academy."

Shunsui was confused. "But when we went skating together in the living world, she was having trouble. She had to hold on to me the whole time. She could hardly put one foot in front of the other on the ice."

Rangiku stared at him for a moment, eyebrows cinched together, and then comprehension dawned on her features, and she laughed. "Oh, wow! That's genius! I've got to remember that!" She turned around and funneled her hands around her mouth. "HEY, NANAO! COME HERE FOR A MINUTE!"

Nanao made her way over, and sure enough, her skating was flawless, just as Rangiku had said. She slowed down a bit as she realized who Rangiku was standing with, but she continued towards them, coming to a perfect stop in front of them. "Yes, Rangiku-chan?"

Rangiku pulled Nanao into one of her infamous 'Death Hugs'. As Nanao struggled to free herself and breathe in some much-needed oxygen, Rangiku was practically singing with happiness. "Oh, Nanao-chan! I had no idea you were so devious! Lying to Shunsui-kun so that you could spend the whole day clinging to him!"

Shunsui grinned with amusement. "Ran-chan, I don't think she can breathe."

"Oh, sorry!" Rangiku released Nanao, who pulled away, gasping for air. Shunsui was fairly sure that the scarlet flush across her cheeks was due to more than just lack of oxygen. By the time Nanao had recovered, Rangiku was gone, off to play matchmaker to her captain and his longtime friend Hinamori.

Shunsui offered her his arm. "Skate with me, Nanao-chan?"

Nanao smiled and took his arm. "Sure."

**Hi, people! I promised you this, and here it is, less than twenty-four hours later! *gives myself a high-five* Good job, Queen! You impress yourself with your update schedule.**

**I'm warning you guys, though. Unfortunately, spring break is ending in the Sunshine State, and I have to go to school tomorrow. Blegh, blegh, BLEGH. I'll probably have about a third of my usual writing time, now that homework is starting up again, so don't be surprised if I don't have a semi-regular update schedule for a little while. I plan on spending the next two to three weeks putting off my homework, adjusting to the end of my freedom from school, and whining to my friends about how much I hate doing work.**

**Of course, fanfiction doesn't count as work, so I love doing that.**

**Much love to all,**

**QueenMaj**


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